For This
by Zidia
Summary: Eden Shepard is about to make a decision that will change the galaxy forever, and end the cycle. But then a strange blue box appears, and what's inside will change her fate, and the fate of the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1 - An End, Once and For All

_Author's note: You remember how in the first game, Liara mentions that the reason she figured out about the Reapers, because of a lot of data _hinting_ at their existence? That's kinda how I felt, reading a lot of Mass Effect-related stuff. So awhile ago, I got the random idea of bringing the Doctor into the mix._

_I've always had a problem of starting projects and never finishing them, so I figure, a short one, I'll be able to do fine, right? (yes, I know I'm also working on _Call of Redemption_. Hopefully, that won't fall in the pile of 'not-yet-finished-for twenty-something-years') So this is a one shot story, bringing in the possibility of something _more_ to deal with in the future._

_Shepard _never_ gets it easy._

-=)O(=-

_"You must choose."_

Eden Shepard stood there, trying to force thoughts through what seemed like thick jelly. Finally, forcing herself to move, she croaked out, "I'm not going to destroy all synthetics as a justification for the Reapers."

She drew a deep breath, trying to ignore pain, but only partially succeeding. She _completely _ignored the Catalyst trying to tell her she was wrong, and rode right over its arguments. "And I'm _certainly_ not going to finish the Illusive Man's work. Not after all he did."

There was silence for a moment. Then, the Catalyst finally spoke. _"Then you must choose Synthesis, or let the cycle continue."_

"_Hell_ no. I'm not going to let all these people burn. This cycle ends today," Eden spat. _Synthesis it is._ Even that thought came slowly, like molasses. But one thought rang clear and strong in her mind:_ the Reaper threat ends today. The Cycle ends today. Too many people sacrificed themselves for me to reach this point. I will not let them down._ Their names, faces, every memory of them flashed through her head, jabbing at her heart with pain far fiercer than what she was currently feeling. She would not let them down.

She took a step forward.

The world lurched around her, and only years of training, training that had bred instinct, thousand times over, saved her from falling flat on her face. Or possibly off the side of the platform. Taking another deep breath, she steadied herself.

She took another step.

Her mind was having more and more trouble focusing. The bright, steady light of the Crucible couldn't be far away, no more than a few feet. But if felt…distant. Out of the corner of her eyes, Eden saw flashes of light as ships crumbled away against the Reaper onslaught.

They were there because of her. Because they believed she could do this. Friends. Allies. They're all come for the same reason. They'd come from thousands of different worlds. Asari, turians, salarians, rachni, quarians, geth, krogan…the list went on for so long. Even the last remnants of the batarian fleet was there. All for one purpose.

To stop the Reapers, or die trying.

And they were all counting on her to just take those last few steps.

She took another step forward.

She wasn't sure what happened. One moment, she'd been staring at the bright beam of the Crucible. Now…cold metal pressed her cheek, and she was seeing an odd image of things flying by sideways. The Reapers were coming up to meet the fleets, and the allied fleet was falling downward…attacking them…

There was a strange thumping sound in her ears, like a slow, steady drum. Some distant part of her was telling her to get up, to get moving, for some odd reason, but mostly, she was feeling like she really needed a nap, and this place was more comfortable than the bed she had on Earth…

…There was just some strange sound interrupting her otherwise peaceful afternoon: a wheezing, _groaning_ sound. Like an old man who was struggling to breathe. But with every second, it became _stronger,_ sounding more victorious. Less like he was drawing his last breath, and more like…

Eden didn't know what it reminded her of, but in that moment, she felt like a small child again, tucked into bed, listening to her mother's soft humming.

Then there was silence.

Eden opened her eyes. She was still lying on the platform, but she had the feeling she was not alone. Pushing more effort than she thought possible, she rolled over.

There was a big blue box sitting on the platform, and for the life of her, she couldn't imagine where it came from. The Catalyst seemed no less befuddled at its appearance. Yet at the moment, it did nothing but sit there, the light atop pulsing calmly.

Then, the door opened.

Eden wasn't sure what she expected to see on the other side. A new alien perhaps, or maybe even her dear, now dead parents. Maybe Kaidan, or Mordin, or perhaps everyone she lost in her quest to stop the Reapers. If a skeleton wearing a tattered cloak and wielding a scythe showed up, she'd probably have just taken it in stride.

But one thing that she had not expected was a completely ordinary man.

He was rather tall, some distant part of her noted. Wearing a long, tan duster, and some sort of suit…and was that a flowery tie? He also had a strange contraption on his face…Eden searched her memories…glasses. They were called glasses. They didn't look too bad either.

The strange man stepped out of the box, looking around, as if he landed on shimmering platforms hanging in space all the time. He seemed quite pleased with himself, and turned back towards his box, shouting, "What'd I tell ya? We'd get here in time eventually." Without even breaking stride, he turned to the Catalyst. "And _you,_" he told it pointedly, "have a lot to answer for."

_"Who are_ _you?"_

"I am the Doctor," the strange man told it. "And you, are an insensitive, manipulative, computer drive."

It was the first time Eden had seen the Catalyst shocked to silence.

The Doctor just turned, facing towards the Crucible and Eden. "And let me guess, you said, the only way to stop the Reapers was to destroy them, control them, or make everything a little less unique, am I right?"

_"We-"_

"_And_ if anyone refused those choices, you'd tell 'em the only other option was to let the Reapers destroy everything, and make it someone else's problem, eh?" Turning towards Eden, he added, "it did say something like that, right?" Eden nodded, not daring to speak.

_"Those are the only options." _The Catalyst said. Rather defensively, Eden thought.

The Doctor however, just waved away it's comment. "Oh, baloney. You're just looking for a way to condemn organics to the same fate all over again, so you can justify it happening in the first place." With that, he turned and glared at the Catalyst.

Eden had faced down a Reaper that was standing right over her, weapon primed, ready to incinerate her, and she hadn't even flinched. She'd stood in the center of the Collectors' base, facing a Reaper embryo made up of the dissolved bodies of literally millions of humans, without even a shotgun. She'd run straight for the beam to the Citadel with Harbinger having a clear shot of her the whole time. She'd pushed down fear, and only ran harder.

That glare from the Doctor sent shivers down Eden's spine, like cold hands of dread. _This is not a man you want to get angry_. The Catalyst visibly wilted under that glare.

Finally, the Doctor spoke again, and this time, it was in low tones, speaking to the Catalyst alone.

"And we both know that you could very well just release you own influence, and they'd stop fighting. Considering they're the embodiment of all those races _you've_ harvested since the beginning of the cycle, I'm willing to bet they'd just walk away and stop fighting. Or, if you influence runs deep enough, I bet they'll just stop _all together_. Are you willing to bet that? Because here's one thing you should know about me: _I never lose_."

Then his face seemed to soften a bit, and Eden slowly released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The Catalyst still seemed wary as the Doctor continued, "but we also both know what would happen if I destroyed you, don't we? It was no coincidence the Reapers lived in Dark Space, rather in some more accessible spot, like say, the Galactic Core, or even just an area no Mass Relay visited. Just like it was no coincidence this very structure is the only thing that connects Dark Space to the Milky Way, _isn't it?_"

The Doctor folded up his glasses at this point, and took a step away from the Catalyst, staring up at the Crucible. "So the question you're probably asking yourself right now is, 'what is he going to do next?'. And I'll tell you." Turning on his heel to face the Catalyst, the Doctor seemed to have regained some of his earlier…whimsical tone? Was that the right word? Dragging herself away from her thoughts, Eden focused on the Doctor's next words. "I'm going to play your little game, but not in the way you planned."

The Doctor has raised a finger at this, and was now grinning like a kid with a secret. He walked straight past the Catalyst, and opened the doors of his blue box wide with a flourish. And out stepped…

…Eden.

Eden stared at the exact image of herself, before realization dawned. It was her clone!

The last time she'd seen the clone, she'd been plummeting towards the ground below, Eden watching helplessly from the Normandy.

_"Take my hand." She'd tried to save her clone. After she'd done her level best to kill her and steal her ship, she'd tried to save her._

_"And then what?"_

_"Then you live."_

_"For what?" With those words, her clone had let go, and let herself die._

Yet here she was, dressed in a baggy red sweater and jeans. She'd let her hair grow out a bit as well, and now had it pulled back into a short ponytail.

But the face was the same. The same determination that had almost taken the Normandy from her, believing she was working for the betterment of humanity, that determination still remained. But she looked older. _Wiser_.

And for the life of her, Eden couldn't figure out why she was there.

Her clone answered for her. "You need Shepard to die in the Synthesis wave. The trials she's gone through have made her into the catalyst you need for your 'perfect solution'. I'm an exact duplicate of Shepard, minus some wear and tear. And those implants, but we both know they're not necessary. You've already got the information on how to combine synthetics with organics, so all you're missing is the organic side of things."

_"This was Shepard's choice. She made it this far. No other organic has."_ The Catalyst told her.

The Doctor interjected. "And just because one person can do it, you're saying no one else can? For a machine, you are _very_ stubborn. Don't tell me you haven't made the same calculations I have: Shepard needs to live, because one of these days, your little barrier will fail, and then that," the Doctor pointed to the chaos around them, "will look like child's play. The galaxy must be united, and there is only one person who can do that." Now the Doctor was rather close to the Catalyst's face. Quietly, he asked, "now, are you going to follow your rules, and probably doom us all, or all you going to take the only _logical_ solution, and give everyone a chance?"

"Besides, I'm supposed to be dead anyway. Who am I to argue what the rest of the world?" Eden's clone added. After a moment, the Catalyst slowly nodded its ascent.

As her clone started walking towards the Crucible's light, Eden struggled once more to move, pushing herself up on one arm. "You don't have to do it," she told her clone, forcing the words out.

Her clone stopped, turning towards Eden. She walked over and crouched next to her. "You're right. I don't," she told Eden. "But the thing is: you were right. I can't be Shepard. And I can't just save humanity." She turned to look at the Doctor and the strange blue box they'd come in, as if considering her next words. "They're just one part of a bigger whole. Sleeping all those years…finally coming out to a world on the brink of chaos…it warps a person's sense of view.

"And that day one the Normandy, I thought I'd lost. You had the upper hand. The thing I thought was your weakness turned out to be mine. And I thought it was over. But next thing I knew, I was landing in a box that was bigger on the inside. One that had a madman inside that could make it go through time. I saw things too incredible to describe. And I found a purpose."

The clone turned back to Eden. "So no, I don't have to. But the galaxy needs you. I once thought I could replace you, but I don't have your memories. I don't have what drives you to bring all these races together." Looking at the Crucible, the clone added, "but that doesn't mean I don't have a part in all of this. You thought you were finished with me, but now I'm going to be the one who finishes this."

She stood, and started walking towards the Crucible. Eden's eyes tracked her all the way there. Finally, she stopped right in front of it, pausing and turning back to the three of them watching her. The Doctor's expression was one of sadness, as if he'd wanted a better ending. The Catalyst was as emotionless as ever.

Eden's clone addressed all of them. "Cerberus might not have created me to make a difference, but that's who I am. This is what I want." She gave the Doctor a nod, and a quick smile. Then she stepped into the light, and was gone.

It was like sound had suddenly vanished, and time itself had taken a pause. The world lit up with white light, pulsing. Growing brighter. Eden suddenly felt arms pulling on her, dragging her back.

Then the light stopped, drawing back into itself.

And then it burst forth in waves of green energy, spreading outward in all directions. Eden gasped at the brilliant green light. It filled the entire world, touching everything, changing it, bringing it together.

And then it all faded into darkness and was gone.


	2. Chapter 2 - Time & Space

Eden awoke to a feeling of floating. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying on a very soft, cozy bed. The room itself was rather ordinary, like something back home. Before it was raided anyway.

That thought pushed the warm, cozy feeling away, and Eden sat up, wincing as she did so. Someone had taken time to clean and bandage her wounds, but they were obviously far from healed. What remained of her armor lay at the foot of the bed. She was wearing the clothes she'd had on beneath them. Or, what was left of those clothes, anyway. There were several holes, and an entire sleeve missing.

There was also a wardrobe leaning against one wall, waiting for her to notice it. Standing carefully, Eden hobbled over, opening it up.

If she'd been expecting Alliance style clothing, she was sadly disappointed. She was confronted with sweaters, jeans, _tennis shoes_, of all things, and other sorts of items of that style.

She finally chose a dark blue sweater, and black dress pants, along with a pair of matching shoes. She had no mirror to check how bad she looked though, which was rather a shame…

…and she was _certain_ that doorway hadn't been there a minute ago. Had it?

She stepped carefully over to the open doorway, as if expecting something to leap out at her any second. Nothing did. She poked her head around the corner.

Full bathroom, including a _bathtub_ of all things, and a full length mirror, as well as a cabinet sink, and a smaller mirror above that.

Opening one of the drawers, Eden found several different brushes and combs, as well as some head bands and hair ties. And one of them was fuzzy pink. Opening the next drawer, she found a lot of cosmetics. She labeled them simply as 'cosmetics', unsure exactly what they were for. Miranda had once tried to get her to use some, but she'd just never had the interest.

The bath however, was very inviting. But that would have to wait until she found out where she was. She did pause long enough to run a brush through her hair, but then stepped out of the room, heading for the other door.

…Which wasn't there anymore. Apparently, someone (or possibly something) wanted her to take that bath. She resigned herself to it, (somewhat eagerly in fact, though she'd never admit it to anyone else) and headed back to the bathroom.

The bath was wonderfully refreshing, helping ease sore and aching muscles. Eden realized she hadn't relaxed for a very long time. By the time she was back into the new clothes, she was feeling far better than before. It helped seeing that the other door was back. Though she wasn't happy at the thought of dancing to another's whims.

But she'd find out who was behind all this soon enough, of that she was certain. She opened the door and stepped out into a hallway. It had a blue-green tinge to the walls, as well as what appeared to be old, well used metal. The place felt lived in, like…

…like a home. The soft glowing in the corridor pulsed calmly, almost as if it were alive.

Eden pushed the ridicules notion out of her head…until she remembered the derelict Reaper. Then she became a bit more worried.

_Well, standing here won't solve anything._ Eden thought crossly. She'd just have to find a way off, then contact the Normandy. Or almost any normal ship, for that matter. She needed to get to Earth. Find out what happened.

With newfound determination, Eden set off.

She soon came to a large, open room. The same blue-green color that had been throughout the rest of the ship (and she was certain it was a ship. She could hardly have missed a place like this before. Nor could the Reapers, for that matter) appeared here as well, along with the well-worn metal, crisscrossing the walls like a spider web. Wire and other unknown electronics were draped all over the place, like vines. Here, more than ever Eden had the feeling this thing, this ship was alive.

And in the center, near what appeared to be a console of some sort, the strange man she'd seen earlier, the one who'd called himself 'the Doctor', was waving his hands, shouting at the console.

"No, no, no, no, _no!_ The transdimensional shifts lined up just a moment ago! They can't have fallen out of sync so quickly, it just _isn't possible!_ No, something must be off. Or something is interfering with it. But what could interfere with it? No, it doesn't have the _time_. It's too busy elsewhere, and won't break through for another few years. It's got to be something…AH! Of course, how silly of me!" He reached over and pulled a lever, looked over at a screen, and smiled. "Forgot to get us back in sync, didn't I? Could have landed several thousand years in the opposite direction, and_ hello._ Didn't see you there." The last bit was directed at a rather dumbstruck Eden, who was sure her mouth was hanging open. "Well, don't just stand there, welcome to the TARDIS. Never properly introduced myself: I'm the Doctor."

Eden stepped down into the central area of…the TARDIS. "Shepard. Doctor _who?_"

He grinned, eyes twinkling as if that was just what he wanted to hear. "Just the Doctor."

Eden nodded dumbly, staring at the place around her. "What happened to that little blue box of yours?" She asked. Maybe it'd been a shuttlecraft?

"Oh, this is that 'little blue box' of mine. 'Fraid it doesn't look the same both ways 'round."

Eden took a moment to process that. "But…but that's impossible! That box was tiny, and this…"

"…is bigger on the inside. Yes, I know." Once again, Eden got the feeling he was very pleased with himself. "But _you _of all people should know better than to consider anything impossible."

"Like a blue box with a strange man and my clone appearing on that platform?" Eden asked dryly.

His smile slipped a bit. "Yes…rather like that."

Eden frowned, studying him for a moment. "You cared about her," she realized.

The Doctor sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I've lost a lot of people," he said quietly, "but I've never just let one go to their death without a fight. Well, no more than a very in-depth argument, but she's remarkably like you−and I don't mean that she looks like you, mind you−but she's very stubborn. I actually offered her another choice. She didn't take it."

"What other choice did you offer her?" Eden asked, curious.

The Doctor stood and started pacing, looking as if he was gathering his thoughts. "Thing is, there was only two things that could have happened. Three, if you count just standing by and doing nothing, but I can't see either of you doing that. Anyway, someone had to die there to stop the Reapers. That was going to be either you, or her.

"Whoever _didn't_ die, would then have to take on the responsibility of what's coming next. Except you clone tried to kill herself before then. And while there is a slim−_very _slim, might I add−chance of things turning out well, the truth is, a Shepard has to be there to really make things go well. And she decided that she'd rather have you do that. And she might very well have been right."

Eden watched him. "Why do you say that?" She asked. Her clone had turned down the chance to be Shepard? She'd saved Eden's life instead. She'd saved the galaxy. It was a single, selfless act that Eden hadn't thought her clone was capable of.

It seemed she really didn't understand her clone as well as she thought.

"If you'd have died then, then she'd have to find a ship, able crew, possibly even have to convince your friends to help her−and almost stealing you ship was not a good résumé, let me tell you−or try to find others that would help, and that takes _time_, which both of you will have very little of when things begin," the Doctor stated, bringing Eden out of her thoughts. "On the other hand, all you have to do is convince Ashley to let you take back the Normandy−and _believe _me, she'd _love_ to do so. Doesn't think she's cut out for that sort of thing, and how _wrong _she is about that…anyway, then convince the other races to unite _again_, and hope for the best."

"That's it? That's your master plan?" Eden asked, incredulous. Hope for the best? Even she'd never said that!

…although, sometimes, that was exactly what they were doing.

The Doctor looked hurt. "Well, normally, I'd try surrendering, but that's not going to work this time 'round."

"So what, you'll drop me off on Earth, and I convince everyone to work together against…what exactly are we fighting?"

"No, no. That won't work," the Doctor told her, waving the suggestion away. "Thing is, you're not going to be 'round forever to clean up after their little fights, so they have to learn to get along on their own. Besides, they already consider you a hero, and if you show up _now_, their opinion of you will just keep going up, and I hardly think that's what you want..." Eden's shudder said everything. "…so instead, you're going to pop out of nowhere _just_ before things get ugly, and hopefully be able to hide under the cover of chaos. Believe me, it works amazingly well. I've done it hundreds of times before."

Eden wondered just what sort of life this Doctor led.

"So no one knows I'm still alive," she finally said, feeling a stab of pain at that. What the Doctor was saying made sense…but she could imagine her crew. How they'd take it.

_I promised Garrus I'd be back. _She thought. It hurt, but she knew he was right: if the world learned she'd survived all that, and was going to save them again…

_But I didn't save them. My clone did._ Her clone. The one who'd tried to steal her ship, tried to destroy her and all her friends…the one who'd saved her life. Saved the galaxy. And was actually a decent person, judging by the look she'd seen on the Doctor's face.

"What was she like?" Eden found herself asking. "What was my clone like?"

"You mean Amanda? She took that name, you know. After she decided not to take your identity," the Doctor said, seeming to take Eden's change of topic perfectly in stride. "As for what she was like…well I image she was a lot like you. I think you two could have worked marvelously together. Shame she was stuck on killing you."

Eden nodded. "So what is it that we're fighting? This thing that my clo−that _Amanda _died giving me the chance to stop?"

The Doctor looked a bit resigned at that. "Can't really tell you. Not yet anyway. Spoilers are _very _dangerous things."

Eden's eyes narrowed. "Then how do you know?"

"I'm a time traveler! It's my business to know," the Doctor said defensively. "As for your previous statement however, not _everyone _will think your dead. Least not forever, anyway. Did you forget I mentioned y_ou getting the Normandy back?_ That's _far_ more than just a simple ship."

Eden felt a flash of hope. "So…they'll know I'm alive? They'll get to see me again?"

"Of course! Unless you intend to take the ship in disguise. Bad idea, by the way. Don't forget Amanda tried that. Minus the disguise bit of course. Of course, the real question isn't whether you'll see them again, but whether you'll survive what's next." He gave her a pointed look. "You thought fighting Reapers was hard, but think of this: something the Reapers fought, but could not destroy."

Eden felt a chill. That was scary. The Reapers hadn't destroyed _them_, but they'd been trying to harvest them. Eden was certain that if the Reapers had really just wanted them dead, they'd be dead.

The Doctor abruptly clapped his hands. "Enough of the morbid stuff though. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it, but you just woke up. You need time to heal. The galaxy needs time to heal. And we're not going to just spent that time sitting around and moping, oh no. We are going to have an _adventure_."

"What sort of adventure?" Eden asked cautiously. The Doctor just grinned, and once again, Eden had the feeling he'd been waiting for her to ask that.

"You have spent a very long time saving this galaxy. I think it's time for you to see a little more of what you've been fighting for, eh? And I'm not just talking about now. You can go anywhere. Any time. Any place. Now you've got all time and space open to you. So, where would you like to start?

-=)O(=-

_After watching the Citadel DLC, I've often wondered, what would have happened if Shepard's clone had taken a different path, or had been given such an opportunity. And come on: _anyone_ that travels with the Doctor will change a bit (or, in the clone's case, a lot) so it makes sense that her perspective changes in the end._

_As for the great danger that is coming in the future years? No clue! (cue evil laughter) That is left up to your imagination._

_All things considered though, I just _really_ wanted to have the Doctor yell at the Catalyst._

_Please let me know what you think!_


End file.
